Beer: Reviews & Ratings

On draft at Frankenmuth brewery in shakerAroma weak, maltyHead removed by bartender, what remains is two mm ring and a layer of off white creamy foamLacing fair – broken curtains of tiny bubblesBody dark amber, cloudyFlavor of malt and chocolate; no hops, no alcohol, no diacetylPalate medium, watery, lively carbonation

I actually bought a Growler of this style (draft) when I was in Frankenmuth. Finished off very quickly, so I wanted to taste it bottled. Pours very dark amber with minimal head and lacing. Tastes of almost fruitiness along with some dark lager. Very easy to drink not heavy at all. Finished whole 6 pack with easy (314 characters)

*transferred from old notes - 06/2014*12oz bottle poured into a shaker. The aroma is a toasted cinnamon raisin bread with light caramel nuts and a touch of cola. It pours a hazy caramel color with a tan, fuzzy, spotty head that retains a medium - light ring, but it leaves a clean glass. The taste is a medium sweetness, with a touch of bitterness.The beer is somewhere between thin and oily, smooth, with a light grainy texture with a medium body and a light fuzzy carbonation. A sweet caramel cola note comes on strong at first with supporting raisin and spice flavors at the finish. The aftertaste is dry and toasty bread with some raisin. The aftertaste is medium in strength, but relatively short. (703 characters)

While there are some orange-brown hues that come in when this beer is held up to the light, it's a very dark brown that's completely opaque. The head is a tan one that achieves half a finger's height and retains itself well while putting moderate lacing onto the walls of the glass.I immediately get notes of toffee out of this one, with a distinctive nuttiness following. There's also lots of toast. There's just enough of a very light earthy hops to balance it while letting malts rule. Some yeasty esters slide in while the flavor shows a gentle peppery sort of character to it. It's very nice, adequately strong, balanced, and deep with a creamy smoothness that's never too high. The finish gives way to the earthier notes and something herbal as well as taking off just a hint of that creaminess when dryness comes in.The body is medium, crisp from beginning to end and smooth as well with a rolling carbonation. A sort of spiciness or peppery bite translates to the feel at the end of every sip. (1,010 characters)

Pours into a becker a deep walnut brown with a thinner light beige head atop that leaves a few spots of lace as it settles.Syrupy in the nose with light nut shell,the sweetness is the main thing here.To be expected it's quite malty and maybe a little sweet for the style with caramel and brown sugar flavors really standing out,just a light drying breadiness in the finish.Not a great example of the style but I love going to the brewery/restaurant on the Cass river close to where I grew up. (492 characters)

Appearance: Pours a dark brown with a nice head, but it fizzles away pretty quickly. There's no lacing.

Smell: About what you'd expect from the smell of a malt-forward beer... extremely malty, with some slight spice. A generic kind of comment, but that's really what it smells like.

Taste: It's pleasant, but I wasn't expecting it to be so much like a lager. Being a lager, it's extremely drinkable, but it' has a somewhat watery consistency, and it's lacking big, bold flavor. It's a tasty beer, and a dunkel that could actually be very refreshing on a hot summer day, if you're craving a dark beer that isn't too heavy. In that instance, this would be an excellent beer. For its style, it's actually very quite good. As a whole though, it's nothing too special. It is probably the most drinkable dark lager beer that I've ever had though, so that counts for something. (872 characters)

A - Nice cap of light tan head. Dark brown with great clarity when held to light. No lacing.

S - Nice malty profile. I get caramel, honey and nutty tones. Nothing over the top like roasted or dark chocolate smells. Has a little bit of a cider-like aroma in there too.

T - Malty with gentle caramel again. It has a little bit of some green apple character. Has a little bit of bitterness that balances out the little bit of sweetness it has.

M - Medium to medium-full bodied, medium carbonation, Semi-sweet.

O - Smelled like a solid dunkel with its malt emphasis without exceeding extreme dark grains but had a little twang underneath it all. The taste had an even bigger apple-like quality and also a more boring malt take. Good feel and good appearance. (808 characters)

M: Thinner bodied than I was expecting. Clean beer with mild carbonation leaving a creamy texture on the tongue.

O: A good beer, just not what I was expecting. I was hoping for a bit more malt character to shine through. More bitterness and less body than I would have liked. Not a bad beer, just not a great one. (708 characters)

12 ounce bottle into lager glass, bottled on 2/5/2014. Pours lightly hazy/cloudy reddish brown color with a 1 finger dense light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty lacing clings on the glass. Aromas of caramel, toast, biscuit, brown bread, light roast, herbal, and yeast earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance of dark/bready malt and moderate hop/yeast ester notes; with solid strength. Taste of caramel, toast, biscuit, brown bread, light roast, herbal, light pepper, and yeast earthiness. Minimal earthy bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of caramel, toast, biscuit, brown bread, herbal, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Nice balance and robustness of dark/bready malt and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; with zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a smooth, crisp, and lightly bready mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is a nice dunkel lager style. Well balanced dark/bready malt and light-moderate earthy hop flavors with good robustness; and very smooth and crisp to drink. A nicely enjoyable offering. (1,213 characters)

Had this on tap at the Frankenmuth Brewery. Wasn't able to watch them pour it, but it arrived with a small, one finger head. Dark brown/mahogany and somewhat cloudy in appearance. Had a malty, cooked grain aroma. Somewhat sweet tasting with a rich maltiness and light on hops. Smooth and full bodied but not heavy. Refreshing Dunkel. (333 characters)

A very decent munich style dunkel lager. Like the aroma and the taste.

Pours very clear, translucent, ruby brown colored with at least one finger thick head. The head dissipates rather quickly. Just enough carbonation.

Smells a lot of caramel, toffee and roasted malt. A bit on the lines of porter. Very strong and likable.

Taste is very much the nose. More of roasted malts upfront that end with some noble hops which are not very discernible. Not at all sweet, neither bitter. Good mix and complexity. Taste and smell very much stay with you for a while. This is a quality i like to have in a beer.

Mouth feel is medium bodied.

Overall very drinkable beer. As they say liquid bread. It very much fits the bill. (720 characters)

Appearance is a transparent brown with an orange hue. There is a thin layer of head, but that s all. The nose is distinctly bready. Malt and rye bread are the flavor focus and this offering finishes nicely bitter. All-in-all, a nice dunkel, but a bit thin for my taste. (269 characters)

A: Nice deep brown coloring with a fingers worth of head that dissipates to a nice veil of lace across the top that sticks around on the side all the way down.

S: Some nice toasted malts with a hint of bread that lead into a very nice sweetness, with some dark fruit flavors coming thru. Very enjoyable.

T: Interesting combination of flavors. Some light sweetness coming thru and those dark fruit flavors are there but not overly sweet. Leads way to toasted malt flavors, burnt sugar and some very mild spicing at the end that became a bit more pronounced as the brew warmed.

M: Light carbonation works well with the fruit flavors (and lack of excess sweetness).

O: Nice combination of flavors that work well, especially with the lack of sweetness with the fruit. They balance well with the toasted malt flavors and spicyness at the end. Would def try this again. (868 characters)

Pours a clear brown color with a hint of a reddish hue. Single-finger off-white head with good retention and a bit of visible carbonation. The nose has some faint caramel malt with a slight toffee presence. The flavor is similar with some added sweetness and a short burst of earthy hops toward the finish. Body is medium and a bit syrupy, at least for the style. Pretty good, but a bit too sweet. (453 characters)

This poured out as a nice brown color, not overly deep in color, still able to see through it. The head was a light brown color. The smell of the beer was lightly roasted with some nice wheat and clove notes. The taste of the beer brings the roasted malts up and finishes with a lightly spiced finish. The mouthfeel was smooth and still pretty light for the style. Overall it's not too bad. (390 characters)

I am new to the Dunkel variety (from what I have read, this is a Munich style), as well as to Frankenmuth. A friend brought this to my Super Bowl party, which annoyed me because he usually brings me a nice new IPA or APA I have never tried before.

The brew looks great, a nice brown color. The smell is great as well, not too strong or too weak. The same can be said of the taste, it does not over or underwhelm you.

If I can find more Dunkels like this, I will definitely move this style into my top 5. (505 characters)

Thanks very much to my sister for sending me out a mixed six of Frankenmuth beers. I hope they're all this good.

This pours dark amber with a pretty eggshell head rising and leaving good lace on the way down. On the nose there is toasted malt, some fruit esters, mostly apple, and a faint floral character. In the mouth the toasted malts lay all over the tongue with the other flavors hanging out on top, some light fruitiness but mostly refined bready notes. The finish is long and very pleasant with the toasted malt hanging around longest.

Overall, this is a nice beer in a style with which I have no familiarity. It seems very refined and would be easy to drink many of these. (682 characters)

The second-oldest brewery in the US is brewing again. Dark chestnut-hued brew, bordering on black. Lacing dresses the glass very well. Fresh-toasted dark bread flaunts the malt aroma; very clean. Strong malt presence here—even with it teetering on the dry side, there are a lot of complex layers that peel away, sip after sip. Heavy toasted taste eventually calms down with an even malt flavor. Mild hopping is just enough to keep the malt in check. Very good drinking—spot-on for style, and on par with its authentic German counterparts. (600 characters)